Coco, a super sweet Shih Tzu and our smallest pet to date, enjoyed socializing in our historic neighborhood.
Like our petsitting adventures with Bella, Coco was very excited about a stay in the “city.” Since we work from our home studio, we often host pets at our house in The Fan.
This historic area of town, named for its “fan” shape, is perfect for dog walking. Sidewalk-lined streets, grassy patches and plenty of new sights and smells make for a pet’s wonderland. We always encounter people with their furry friends. And while the interactions are always different, they’re always entertaining.
Residents in The Fan are typically out and about, and when the weather’s nice, gathering on their front porches.
Coco loved the social aspect of our community. He was all about meeting other people and practically ran up to people as we encountered them. However, meeting other dogs was another story. Maisie, an enthusiastic Labradoodle who lives next door to us, clearly couldn’t wait to hang out with her new playmate. Coco… not so much. After their initial meeting, it was clear Coco was ready to move on.
And so we did, taking Coco to our favorite spot in the city, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Here, he loved forging through the long grass and exploring different pathways. Funny enough, he took an interest in the sculptures, particularly one of an enormous man leaning against a tree stump. Coco stared at the art piece for a while. After failing to see any sign of life from the sculpture, he resumed his search for other interesting things to be found in the Robins Sculpture Garden.
With his tiny frame and irresistibly cute Ewok face, people naturally stopped to greet Coco. When they did, his eyes would light up and his fluffy, pom pom tail would quickly wag back and forth. One of the sweetest things about his face is that when his mouth parts, his little pink tongue pops out, giving the impression of a huge, wide smile.
Back home, Coco wanted to be a part of everything we were doing. While we finished up work, he happily rested in our laps.
While we couldn’t begin to live up to his wonderful owner, we think Coco felt safe and secure with us from the beginning. In the evening, after dinner and some snuggles, he climbed into his cozy dog bed. We imagined him snoozing away dreaming of all the interesting people he met that day and his fun-filled adventures in the city.
